Not The Same
by Aikat3rin3
Summary: After being betrothed to Sanji, Nami would have never expected to walk in on him... as she did. And especially not with Zoro. Based off of Martial's XI.43 on homosexual romance in ancient Rome. BoyxBoy Three-shot
1. Chapter 1

I don't own anything but my ideas.

Based off of a poem by Marcus Valerius Martialis (Martial). The poem is about homosexuality in ancient Rome (See bottom of page).

XXX

Nami couldn't keep the expectant smile off of her face. King Zeff and her father had finally agreed to the marriage. In a mere thirteen months, she and Prince Sanji, lord of the southern regions, would be married—Sanji, who was so kind to her, who always placed her before everyone else in the room, who she had seen defend her without a second's hesitation—even against a formidable enemy.

Months, she had been waiting for this to happen for months. And now that the deal was finalized, all she had to do was secure it for herself and Sanji. Rude was one thing Sanji was not, but she also wasn't blind to the fact that he was the kind of ruler who damn well wanted to make his own decisions in life. If she showed him what she could do tonight, he would be hers.

Nami's hair was pulled back off of her face with gold pins and silver strands braided into her amber locks. The circlet around her head had a diamond dangling in the middle of her forehead. Her eyes were lined with charcoal and silver dust that made her eyes sparkle like diamonds in the moonlight—and if she had her way tonight, then the lights **would** be off. Her wrists and ankles were draped with beautiful silver bangles, a circlet of gold was wrapped snuggly around her upper arm, and a choker necklace—which she had found was the most arousing to men—would have been actually choking her if it was any tighter.

Nami couldn't even begin to explain how happy she'd been when King Zeff and her parents, King Genzo and Queen Bell-mère, had announced that she would be married to Prince Sanji. And before her older sister as well! Though it was to be expected, Nojiko had never really expressed a desire to marry (for either money or happiness), Nami had always been the ambitious one.

After dinner had finished and everyone had dispersed to their own business, Nami had ran to her room to change into her favorite robes: bright red, bright enough to turn every eye in the room, and lined with more gold. She'd had to wait a while after that because Sanji had left dinner with Zoro Roronoa to spar, and usually their spars could go on for hours—a ridiculous amount of time, but there was no one else aside from King Zeff who could fight the prince or the general. As Nami had said many times before, they were so strong it was stupid (and the stupidity certainly was apparent in Zoro).

Zoro Roronoa was one of the most brilliant generals anyone had ever seen until that point, and he was the youngest by three years at the age of twenty-one—just a few months younger than Sanji was. The two fought like cat and dog when around each other (Nami had yet to see them together where they weren't fighting) but Sanji also spent more time with Zoro than he did with Nami—though that was to be expected, if Sanji would be king one day, he had to have subjects that were very loyal to him.

Nami had extra perfume on, her face was powdered, she was wearing delicate, gold sandals that tapped quietly against the floor as she walked, and she looked **amazing**. There was no way Prince Sanji, lord of the southern regions and soon to be King of the eastern and western regions as well, could resist what she would offer him.

She would give him all of the children he could ever ask for, she would give him advice on money and estates, she would be understanding when he took another woman to his bed if she was away during battle or a long trip for politics—hell, she had even resigned herself to adopt any child that he may have illegitimately with such women and bring the fucking whore (_prostitute _she corrected herself) under her command as a well-cared for servant—knowing that Sanji would not be able to abandon either the child or the woman.

That was the one thing she could say that she didn't like about Sanji. He was too… **kind**. With her, it wasn't such a problem, but he would save the honor of anyone—man or woman, commoner or whore—no matter who they were with if they were walking through the town. Maybe in time she could work that out of him. She was very skilled when it came to such persuasions.

Nami smiled to every maid she passed, and they smiled back with some confusion. It wasn't every day that Lady Nami acted so happily to someone so below her in status. When she stopped in front of Lord Sanji's door, though, they understood. And their smiles immediately dropped.

"My lady!"

Nami blinked, her hand resting on the doorknob, as she turned back to the one maid who had had enough courage to call out to her.

The maid shifted nervously, looking around to the other maids for help, but they all stared at the floor—not wanted to invoke Nami's wrath.

"M-My lady… the young lord… he's engaged in something… at the moment," she stammered, flinching when Nami's brow furrowed.

"Is he asleep?" It didn't matter if he was. Nami would wake him up, and if he was in bed, it would be all the better to her advantage. It meant less ways for him to escape if she pinned him down before he was even awake.

"I… uh, yes…!" the maid said quickly. "A-And he is very—"

"Then I shall wake him, you are dismissed," Nami grabbed the handle and pulled, starting at the flinch every maid in the area did, all reaching toward her as if to stop her.

_The **insolence**…!_

"My lady, I-I implore you, wait until morning!" the maid spoke up again, her voice stronger now. "The young lord does not like—"

"I am his fiancé," Nami snarled, her eyes cold, making everyone around her cringe backwards. "We are betrothed, and if I wish to see him, than I will!"

Another half-turn on the knob.

"No! My lady, he isn't asleep!" another maid spoke up. "He's—"

"Were you lying to me?" Nami cut in, glaring at the first maid. The young woman's eyes went so wide Nami wouldn't have been shocked if they'd fallen out of her head.

"N-No! No, my lady! I wasn't—"

"Remove yourself from my presence!" Nami ordered, her voice cold and dangerous, daring them to disobey her.

No one did. With one last worried look to each other, everyone around her scurried away and she was left alone in the dark hall.

Nami let go of the knob, leaning her head back and rolling her shoulders as she relaxed herself. It wouldn't do to storm into his room still infuriated at the maids and try to seduce him. Angry sex was not something she wanted to start this relationship on.

Nami slowly fixed her smile, let her eyelids drop halfway, and hung her arm seductively next to her hip so her fingers were slipping just slightly into her robes, and she pushed the door open.

The light that flooded into the hallway was warm, and Nami found herself blinking that Sanji could sleep with how bright it was, but then it hit her what her eyes were seeing and her arm fell limply to her side.

Neither had noticed her, too intent on each other, and the understanding of why the maids hadn't wanted her to go into his room hit her like a smack across the face.

Sanji and Zoro were laid out across the bed, and Nami couldn't even feel her fingers she felt so numb. The only conscious thought in her mind was that Zoro was where **she** was supposed to be. Zoro was in **her** place, the place she had been guaranteed tonight when her engagement had been formalized.

When Nami resigned herself to sharing Sanji with other women if he desired, she had not expected to see this, nor had she expected to need to give into it before their marriage even took place.

Zoro back was flush against the bed, his legs loosely around Sanji's waist as the blond man moved slowly against him, eliciting small groans and rushes of air that Nami could hear from across the room. Zoro reached up and tangled his hands into Sanji's much longer hair, pulling him down to run his tongue across Sanji's neck and chest. Sanji's head rolled back, his mouth falling open, and he braced himself on one hand to slide the other hand to the back of Zoro's thigh and bend his leg back further, making Zoro groan. The sound made Nami jolt. She wasn't stupid, she knew that nobles used younger boys for sex, but she had always been under the impression that the older noble, the one penetrating the younger man, was the only one who got any pleasure out of the sex. Here Zoro was—the strongest man she'd ever met aside from Lord Luffy, and also the gruffest one—lying like a woman under Sanji, and he sounded… euphoric. Not only that, but he was mere months younger than Sanji, and the two she **knew** were friends.

…She didn't understand.

It wasn't until Sanji stroked the back of Zoro's neck with one hand and Zoro reached up in turn to pull their mouths together did she understand, another painful slap across the face.

_Sanji **loves** him._

"L-Lord Sanji…!"

Nami wasn't sure what made her call out, but whatever it was, both sets of eyes jerked to her.

And neither looked guilty.

"Sanji…" she tried again, and she **did** notice how Zoro's bulging muscles tightened as his grip on Sanji's shoulder did. Another slap. "Please… l-let me offer that service to you."

_It's my duty as his wife, after all…_

Sanji paused, and it made Nami flinch again. His eyes were so blank as he stared at her. She'd never seen him so aloof around her.

"You can't," Sanji replied calmly, turning back to the figure under him.

"But I have—!"

"You do not have the same parts as he does," Sanji cut in again. "My apologies Lady Nami, but I'll ask you to leave my quarters."

Nami felt her throat tighten, but she did as he said and backed out of the room, closing the door behind herself.

She leaned against the wood, trying to keep the tears inside her eyes as she breathed deeply.

Never before had she been… **ignored** like that. She couldn't remember the last time she had been placed second, even to Nojiko.

Idly she wondered if the reason Lord "Smoker" had never taken a wife was related to the fact that he and his General, Ace D. Portgas, were always seen together as well.

Nami straightened her posture and clenched her fists as she strode off down the hall, dark and cold now that the light from Sanji's room had been cut off, trying not to cry as she realized the only consolations she could have from this was that Sanji probably wouldn't begrudge her having her own partner, and the fact that he and Zoro could **never** marry.

Nami swallowed and took a deep breath.

"It's fine," she told herself. _The reason I got into this in the first place was for the money. _Just because she had been hopeful there for a moment didn't mean that she wouldn't get over it just as quickly.

But still… she couldn't get the adoring expressions on their faces toward each other out of her mind.

Martial, Epigrams, XI.43

"Bumming a boy again!" comes my wife's yell,

Demanding "Don't I have a rump as well?"

How many times did Juno ask Jove that,

When he and Ganymede played acrobat!

Hercules, bow-less, buggered Hylas' read

Though his wife had a bottom, never fear.

The flight of Daphne drove great Phoebus mad

Until he made it with a shepherd lad.

Achilles' wife bent for him like a crescent,

Yet he preferred a young male adolescent.

Don't think, my wife, your arse is male (or fine as).

To me what you have is just two vaginas.


	2. Chapter 2

I don't own anything but my ideas.

Yes! I know I said this was complete, but I have a weakness for the Greek era, and because I based this off of Martial's poem, it was like a drug.

I COULDN'T STOP!

I hope you all enjoy the epilogue-of-sorts! These will be the last ones ;) Promise!

(It's long, so it's in two parts, but I SWEAR, this is it!)

XXX

King Sanji of the southern, western and eastern regions was seated inside his tent atop a very simply pillow for someone of his stature. The tent itself was placed in the middle of wastelands—or what might as well have been. A collection of hills (of sorts) placed outside of a neighboring kingdom, of which Sanji's kingdom was nearly in a war against. Only precarious negotiations kept the peace now.

Sanji refused to cart around gold-tasseled pillows or lavish food when it was wartime. If there wasn't enough for his men to eat, then he wouldn't either. Luckily, because he refused banquets and wine every night, there was just enough food to go around, and that meant that his army would be well fed in the event that war did break out.

Sanji adjusted his armor so it would slide off of his shoulders as he had unclasped it, and reached for his water skin. He tipped it back to his lips and gulped down half of the contents, pushing the heavy metal plates away from him. Not having wine wasn't such a bad thing; he couldn't hold his alcohol too well—not that he would **ever** admit that. He never drank around anyone but Zoro, and even then only because anything they **did** when he was under the influence would never leave Zoro's mouth again. His two dirty secrets.

Though they probably weren't much of secrets anymore. His servants weren't stupid, and they could be pretty loud sometimes.

Sanji looked up as one of his guards poked his head through the tent flap, nodding to give the man permission to speak.

"My lord, Lord Smoker, General Portgas, Lord Monkey and General Roronoa are here to see you."

"Show them in," Sanji said as he finished off the last of his water skin before tossing it aside. The man nodded and disappeared before the flap was pushed aside and the four men strode into his tent.

Smoker sniffed as he looked around, his cigars rolling around between his lips. "Well, you certainly didn't go for the lavish look."

"Why should I have anymore than my men when my men could be giving their lives for me any day now?" Sanji shrugged, shifting to move over to the table and crossing his legs.

"Good man," Smoker grunted, joining him at the table as the other three sat down.

"Any news?" Sanji asked, not expecting much. Or, much good, anyways.

Ace shook his head, leaning back to flop against the pillow behind him. "Zip, no movements from either side. Which, I suppose, is good."

"Shishishishi," Luffy chuckled, leaning back too. "They have really bad food too, not nearly as good as Sanji's."

The simultaneous choking from around the table was almost comical.

"YOU WENT OVER THERE?" Ace bellowed.

Luffy laughed again. "Uh-huh! And they don't really—"

**POW**.

Sanji groaned, rubbing a hand over his eyes as Luffy lay on the floor, his head smoking and Ace still breathing heavily over him, his fist clenched.

"Idiot," Zoro muttered, the first thing he had said since he came in. Sanji couldn't help the small smirk that graced his lips.

"Presuming that Luffy doesn't screw up the negotiations with anything stupid," Ace growled, sitting back down, "everything should go ok."

Zoro nodded in agreement. "Things are tense, but they don't look prepared. I wouldn't bet on a war."

Sanji let out the breath he'd been holding, blinking when Ace grinned suddenly and punched Zoro on the arm. "That means you're going to be busy tonight."

"Hey—" Zoro grumbled, jerking away until Luffy grabbed his other shoulder, holding him still.

"That means we can fight tonight!"

Sanji snickered after a moment along with Ace, watching Zoro's worried expression spread across his face.

_He's so cute._

"Fight Ace!" Zoro shoved Luffy off of him, his armor clanking at the rough movement, Luffy yelping as he was dumped backwards. "I just want to sleep tonight."

"Aww, come on, Zoro!"

"No!"

"Aaaaaaaaaace~! Fight me!"

"Nuh-uh, busy," Ace said nonchalantly, leaning further back into the pillows. Sanji was probably the only other one who saw Smoker's small smirk. Zoro seemed too busy trying to throw Luffy off of his back. If Zoro gave in and agreed to fight Luffy, Sanji was going to kick his ass all the way back home.

"Sanjiiiiiiiii!"

Sanji closed his eyes, bracing himself for when—

"Feed meeeeeeee!"

And there it was. Sanji sighed and called for one of the guards, who poked his head in again expectantly.

"Lord Black-hole would like to be fed, and get these other idiots out of my tent," he waved a hand towards Smoker and Ace as he spoke. Smoker huffed and Ace grinned, both moving to stand and sparing the poor guard an aneurism as he tried to imagine how he would even begin to try and order either of the men out of the tent.

The guard remained a little while longer after the three had left, wondering if Sanji wanted him to offer up his life in order to try and remove Zoro from the tent as well.

"He's fine," Sanji told him, waving in Zoro's direction, and the poor guard ducked back out as quickly as he could.

Outside, the first guard let out a deep breath, blinking when his partner moved to place himself in front of the tent flap.

"…What…?"

"You'll see."

"…Huh? What are you—"

The smash of glass and pottery from inside made the younger one jump and his lunge for the tent flap was cut off suddenly by— his partner.

"What are you doing? The king—"

"Is busy." The second turned to stare at the first and said firmly, "You will see."

"But—"

"I can promise you the king will kill you if you go in right now."

"…Are you sure…?"

The second nodded, "Very."

Inside, Sanji removed his hands from over his eyes to look at the damage. Two plates and one glass. Not too bad, considering what had happened other times.

"God damn it!" Zoro snarled, whipping around and almost taking out another vase with his three precious swords.

"Fucking take them off, moron!"

The younger guard blinked outside.

"Shut up!" Zoro yanked the swords off and hung them carefully on one of the supports for the tent before turning to stare at Sanji.

Sanji took one last deep drag on his cigarette before rubbing it out against the ground, laying his arm across his knee as he waited.

"…How's Nami?" Zoro started slowly.

Sanji shot him a glare dark enough to put a black spot on the sun. "How's Robin?" he returned scathingly. He almost felt guilty at Zoro's dark look aimed at the ground, but shoved the feeling aside. Damn idiot. Why did he have to bring it up? He knew that the mood always tanked when he did. Ever since Sanji's actual marriage…

He didn't think he'd ever see Zoro look as dead as he did during the ceremony until he was actually facedown in a ditch somewhere in the future. And now because of Robin…

Fucking appearances. If it weren't for his position, he would have stayed a bachelor forever. As it was, only Zoro's position allowed for just that, though he had to keep up some appearances. Like, for example, being seen with a particular girl regularly.

Sanji still couldn't tell if Robin was doing this for Zoro or herself. He knew that she knew they were… that they were… well, she was too smart **not** to know. And she and Zoro had been friends forever, but what did she get out of this?

"She's alright," Zoro answered finally. "She and Franky are seeing each other more, and so far I haven't heard any rumors, but it'll be a problem for both of our reputations when they do start."

Sanji nodded slowly and looked away, tossing his bangs lightly with his fingers. "Nami wants a baby."

Zoro's head snapped up, his expression almost horrified. Sanji ran a hand roughly through his hair, averting his gaze to the ground.

"Or at least, I think she does. She keeps hinting about babies, but I'm not sure if she's talking about herself or someone else that I'm with. She doesn't seem like a… baby person, but I could be wrong. She's never seemed interested in them before."

"…But doesn't she—"

"Of course she knows, you idiot, she walked in on us before we were even married," Sanji snarled, still unable to meet Zoro's eyes. "She's told me before that she wouldn't mind me bedding another woman if I was away for a long time, so I don't even know what she means anymore."

Zoro was silent, and then he reached up to rub at his forehead. "Christ…"

Sanji pursed his lips, and then let out a strained laugh. "I wish we could leave."

"…And go where?"

"Anywhere. The other side of the world, the sea, the fucking sky—I don't know, just… somewhere where we could…"

Sanji went silent and Zoro stood for a moment on the other side of the tent before crossing to where Sanji was seated. He slid down to his knees slowly, his armor clanking as he did and reached up to run a hand through Sanji's hair. He hesitated for a moment as Sanji jerked away, but then his hand touched the soft, blond hair and Sanji shuddered, his head rolling slightly back.

"Take them off," Sanji forced off, and Zoro ripped off his gloves and flung them across the tent before shoving them back into Sanji's hair.

Sanji grappled with Zoro's armor, undoing the ties and yanking off his shoulder plates before tearing away his breast and back plates, hurling them across the tent. He heard something smash where he landed, but he told himself that it had just landed on the things Zoro's had already broken.

Their lips were mashed together, messy and not nearly tender as Zoro ripped at Sanji's robes and Sanji nearly broke Zoro's armor in his effort to get it off.

_Fuck, fuck, **fuck**. Why did he have to bring it up? Why did he have to bring it **up**? A thousand miles from home and all he can do is talk about her! Fucking marimo! Fucking son of a…!_

The last of Zoro's armor hit the ground loudly, but by this time Sanji had been stripped under Zoro's skilled hands.

"No fair," Sanji growled, forcing Zoro onto his back in order to take his actual clothes off. Sanji flipped his hair back for a second before it flopped into his eye again, his gaze catching on the beautiful white sword hanging from the side of the tent.

_I hope I'm good enough for him… I'm better than any other woman out there. I swear, I'll never keep him from his dream, and I won't every stop trying to make him as happy as you did, _Sanji vowed silently before Zoro reached up and touched his cheek questioningly. Sanji smiled, shook his head, and brought his lips back to Zoro's now naked body.

Kuina. Zoro had only told him the story once, but the happiness and fondness of the memories in his eyes when he'd been talking… Sanji wanted to see that happiness in him when **he** was around Zoro.

He wanted Zoro. He wanted to give him everything. He wanted everything from Zoro. He would give him anything if it would make him happy, but he couldn't give Zoro what he wanted.

He couldn't be only his. He couldn't mark Zoro as his. He couldn't prove his love for the other man to the world. He couldn't stay unmarried. He couldn't not have an heir with Nami. And he couldn't give Zoro children.

"_What do you want from me?" _

The memory came flooding back like fire into his mind, the first time they had admitted anything to each other, and even to themselves. The explosive fight, the hate, the anger, and then…

"_What do you want from me?" Sanji might have been crying, he wasn't sure. But Zoro definitely was, though to his credit, his voice was as firm as it ever was._

_And Zoro stared straight into his eyes as he screamed out, "I want **you**!"_

_Sanji couldn't help his shock. Never, **never** had anyone… not Nami, not his foster father, not his mentors, not his friends, hell, not even his subjects had ever said something so… **sincere** to him._

_Sanji took in another shuddering breath and wiped the blood from his lip where Zoro's fist had connected with his face earlier. "…You… want…"_

_Zoro's muscles popped under the strain of his clenched fists, and out of nowhere he let out a wild roar, whirling to the side and putting his fist right through the stone walls of the castle._

_And Sanji just stood there, watching as Zoro's breath heaved, waiting for the younger man to leave so he could break down in peace. He needed to cook, he needed to kick the shit out of something, he needed to scream, he needed—_

_Zoro yanked his fist from the wall, fragments of rock raining down around his feet as he turned to face Sanji, and then he was marching towards him. Sanji didn't have time to think, let alone move before Zoro's hands were around his neck, and then before his brain could make the connection to defend himself, Zoro's lips were hard against his, just holding him there._

_Zoro was a general, a military man, always away from home and women; this kind of thing probably wasn't new to him at all, but to Sanji, it was… new? Yes, new, but it was more than that…_

_Incredible. Amazing. Mind-blowing. Powerful. Astounding. And a thousand more words that all didn't seem to fit quite right._

…_Right._

_That was the word._

_Zoro felt **right**._

_Zoro pulled back slowly, staring into Sanji's eyes, watching, and waiting, like a trained military man. Waiting to make the next move._

_Sanji threw himself against Zoro, smashing the other man back into the wall behind them. Zoro grunted at the force, but Sanji didn't care._

_Zoro was like a rock against him, his body hardened from years of fighting, but he was sturdy too. Holding Sanji as he threw himself against the green-haired man, letting his emotions break free—being his support in all of this. Sanji had never felt that before from anyone either._

_Sanji latched onto Zoro's shoulders, keeping his lips firmly against the other's, and jumped, hoisting himself up and resting his knees on Zoro's hips._

"_Young lord—" Zoro broke free for a moment as his hands clamped down on Sanji's thighs, holding him up._

"_Show me," Sanji ordered, tearing his robe off of his shoulders and fighting with his belt as Zoro held him up._

"_Wha—?"_

"_Show me!" Sanji roared, flinging his belt away. "Show me that you want me! Show me how you…"_

_He trailed off, a light red tinting his cheeks as his eyes found the floor. A glare snapped to Zoro when the general chuckled, but then Zoro's lips against his eyelids were gentle, and Sanji found himself relaxing tentatively into the touch. _

"_Show you how you **could** show another man that you care?"_

_Sanji nodded stiffly, gasping when he was suddenly pushed up against the wall Zoro had been pinned against moments ago. Zoro pushed open Sanji's robes and undid the belt on his own tunic, but he didn't take any more of their clothing off._

"_The same way you show a woman," Zoro replied easily, and pressed his lips to Sanji's._

_Sanji twitched at the mention of being compared to a woman, though he honestly knew that the idiot probably hadn't realized he'd done it, but he had asked Zoro to show him—he had charged his general to show him, and Zoro had yet to ever let him down for anything. With that, he laid his arms around Zoro's neck and leaned into the kiss._

Sanji let Zoro sit up and reposition Sanji's legs around his hips. Zoro's elbow found the table behind him, the other hand coming to rest on one of Sanji's knees as he took up rubbing a slow circle around Sanji's thigh. Sanji shuddered, and then glared at Zoro's chuckle, but to his (not) surprise, Zoro didn't stop the motion.

Zoro fished a small vile of oil from one of Sanji's wooden chests, dipping his fingers into the opening and coating them. Sanji shifted onto his knees and lifted himself higher to give Zoro easier access, letting out a content breath when Zoro's fingers slid inside of him. His smile quickly had Zoro grinning in return, and he leaned forward to rest his forehead on Sanji's chest when Sanji's fingers drifted upwards from his shoulder to toy with the three earrings chiming against one another with Zoro's every move.

_Sanji's gasp was harsh as Zoro moved again, his arms tight around Zoro's shoulders, his legs tighter around Zoro's waist._

_It hurt. It fucking hurt. But he could take it. He'd had worse._

_Sanji's mouth dropped open, a sound he'd never heard himself make before tumbling off of his tongue as Zoro shifted to push deeper into him. Zoro's lips danced across his neck, his hands strong on Sanji's back, holding Sanji against the stone behind them._

"_Sanji," Zoro groaned into his shoulder, the deep thrusting a slow and steady pace now. "Sanji. Sanji. Sanji. Sanji."_

_No "my lord," no "my prince," no "young lord," no title, no nothing. Just Sanji._

_In the last ten minutes, his general had shown him a side of himself that had taken his foster father years to do._

"_Ughhhh, fuck…" Sanji moaned, burying his face into Zoro's skin. He sincerely hoped that he wasn't as bright red as he thought he was._

_One of Zoro's hands found his forehead and pushed him back up, but before Sanji could protest, Zoro's lips were moving against his own again, and he threw himself into the kiss, gripping Zoro's back impossibly tightly._

After that, and after Sanji's shock of just how **right **that had felt, their meetings became much more frequent. After dinner, after sparring, hell, sometimes he had the inclination to wake up to Zoro and snuck into his room at night. He never found out if his servants knew where he went.

They didn't stop after he had met Nami, they didn't stop after Nami and her family had moved into the palace for "continued peace negotiations" (he had called that bullshit from the start), they didn't stop after Zoro's friend Robin agreed to offer herself for outward appearances to look normal.

And when Zoro wasn't working on military strategies (he and Ace worked as the two top generals in the army, and Zoro normally took more of the on-scene planning and acting while Ace planned most of the strategies, because if dumb ape panned anything, it usually went something like, "Leave it up to luck") he was Sanji's personal guard. Ace had been the first one to truly find out about the two of them (_We should really start barring doors or something, sooner or later the shitty old man is going to walk in on us,_ Sanji thought to himself) but it wasn't another week before Sanji walked in on the great Ace D. Portgas riding a wall with Lord Smoker himself up behind him, so Sanji had never worried about Luffy finding out (and if Ace **did** tell him for some reason, Sanji was never going to feed him or his "friend" again)

_Sanji lay with his chin on his arms and his bare torso pressed against the silk sheets. Zoro was up on one elbow next to him, stroking Sanji's hair lightly with two fingers. Occasionally, Zoro would push his bangs out of the way of the slightly discolored and unfocused left eye, but Sanji had gotten over caring a long time ago. It was Zoro—he didn't have to care._

"_Zoro?"_

"…_Nn?" Zoro grunted in reply after a moment and Sanji fought not to role his eyes. _

"…_Would it have been better if one of us had just been born a girl?"_

_Zoro's fingers paused before resuming their stroking. "Feh, I wouldn't want to be a girl. Probably wouldn't have been allowed to take up sword fighting, and I sure as hell wouldn't be a general right now."_

_A smile tugged at the corner of Sanji's lips and he turned to hide it. True; he wouldn't be a prince right now. Actually, he'd probably be married off to some creeper and be a queen somewhere already with eighteen kids or so._

"_I think my father wants me to marry Nami."_

"_**Why**?" Zoro asked gruffly, his hand going stiff._

"_Because she and her family have **moved in**, why else would they be here?"_

"_Yeah, well, that doesn't mean anything," Zoro snapped._

_Sanji huffed, his eyebrows furrowing. Damn, stubborn idiot. "It means everything! She's living with me! She spends every second she can with me!"_

_"I've noticed."_

"_Shut the hell up, I still come and see you."_

"_Sometimes."_

"_**Fuck that**! I try and come every night and you know it! **You're** the one who didn't show yesterday!"_

"_It's not **my** fault that **your** orders are to keep the peace between us and Teach! It's my job to keep this country out of war and keep you safe! And if I have to plan with Ace to keep you safe then that's what I'm gonna do!"_

"_Well, it's not **my** fault that I have to marry a princess to keep the kingdom safe in the future! At least any woman I marry won't fight me on the fact that I don't love her just because I don't shout it to the world!"_

_Zoro's now angry stroking halted suddenly, and then his fingers were gone and Sanji felt the bed shift as he moved away. Sanji bit into his lip, forcing back the angry moisture in his eyes._

_Sanji turned to watch Zoro at the sound of a harsh breath, swallowing thickly as he watched Zoro run his hands over his short hair. Sanji pushed himself to his hands and knees and crawled over to Zoro's back, wrapping his arms around Zoro's torso and pressing his face in between Zoro's shoulder blades. His heart clenched painfully when he felt the slight tremor in Zoro's back and immediately the guilt washed over him like a tidal wave._

_Zoro wouldn't look at him._

_How many times had he seen Zoro cry? Once. He'd only see him crying once during his violent confession earlier that year. And the Nami came along and—no. He wouldn't blame her. But he also knew that it was no coincidence how Zoro went stone cold when she made herself prominent in Sanji's life. _

_Sanji shifted closer to press his front completely to Zoro's back and he moved one hand to grip Zoro's chin, turning his head to press his lips to Zoro's, and then he moved again to taste the saltiness lining Zoro's eyelashes. _

_Sanji's internal debate about which one of them would be the girl if one of them in fact **had** been born a girl would probably never reach a conclusion. Zoro acted more dominating, and was very clear about his desires to protect Sanji, but the taller man could be so frail sometimes, and while Zoro acted tough around others, Sanji had seen the side of him that loved to be dominated. Sanji knew that he fought to win, and had vowed never to lose after his run-in with Mihawk, so things that were out of his control tended to shake the swordsman up so much that sometimes it even shocked Sanji._

_Now was one of those times._

_Though he could easily say that he would probably lose it too if he thought he was going to lose Zoro._

_Sanji moved to Zoro's side and urged his general back with a firm hand on his shoulder. Zoro went like a trained dog, no resistance what-so-ever, clambering to keep Sanji close and their lips connected as he went._

_Sanji pushed Zoro back until his back met the pillow, and then reached down to grip his waist and slide him down until his back was against the bed, laying himself between Zoro's already open knees and grinding their bodies together. Zoro's groan was entirely unrestrained, and it made Sanji's cock jump just to hear it._

_Sanji slicked his cock with the oil he always kept in the side drawer of his nightstand, and then used the oil left over on his fingers to invade Zoro's body._

_Sanji stopped after Zoro's writhing became too much for his own body to bear, and he yanked his fingers out and grabbed the backs of Zoro's knees, forcing them up as he slid into Zoro, gasping as Zoro practically screamed under him, the bed sheets about to tear in his death-grip._

_Sanji fingered Zoro's earrings tenderly as he slid in and out of Zoro in a defined pace. Normally he would talk dirty to the younger man, because he knew it got him off, but tonight seemed too important, so instead he concentrated on running his tongue over every inch of Zoro's skin._

_Zoro linked his ankles behind Sanji's back, letting out small groans and soft rushes of air every time Sanji pushed into him. Zoro reach up, his eyes dazed, and threaded his fingers into Sanji's hair, pulling him down to run his tongue across Sanji's neck and chest._

_Sanji's head rolled back, his mouth falling open, and he braced himself on the hand next to Zoro's head to grip the back of Zoro's thigh with his other hand, bending his leg further back. As soon as Zoro's knee touched his chest, Sanji gave a sharp thrust, and Zoro let out a deep groan, his head falling back into the pillows. _

_Sanji's hand found the back of Zoro's neck, fingering the short hairs at the base of his neck until Zoro was shivering under him. Zoro reached up in turn to pull their mouths together, sliding his tongue over Sanji's and running it over his lips. Sanji felt like crying out triumphantly at the deepness he saw in that gaze. _

_Zoro was his, all his, only his—_

"_L-Lord Sanji!"_

_Sanji started, both his and Zoro's eyes snapping to Lady Nami, who was standing at his doorway. Who had appeared in his doorway. Who was** in his doorway**. Where the **fuck** had she come from?_

_Oh **shit**. Now what the fuck was he supposed to do? Fuckfuckfuckfuck fuckity fucking **fuck**—!_

_Nami fidgeted slowly, turning away and back and then away and back to them once more before she forced out, her lips trembling, "Sanji…"—Sanji felt Zoro's grip on his shoulder tighten as she said his name, but his eyes never left Nami even to reassure Zoro—"Please… l-let me offer that service to you."_

_Sanji could feel Zoro clench under him. That fear, that fear that he detested—loathed—**abhorred** in Zoro, was back. She had brought this fear, the fear that Sanji would choose her, and she needed to leave. Now._

"_You can't," Sanji stated as calmly as he could. Part of him was dying inside to show a woman such detachment, but Zoro needed this. _

"_But I have—!"_

"_You do not have the same parts as he does," Sanji cut in again. "My apologies Lady Nami, but I'll ask you to leave my quarters."_

_Zoro's reaction was instantaneous. The relaxing, the surprise, the confusion, Sanji could feel every emotion just in the air around them. _

_Sanji waited until he heard the door close behind her before he turned back to Zoro, reaching up to run his hand down Zoro's cheek, trying to wipe the confusion from his face._

"_Get rid of that stupid, confused look, marimo," Sanji snapped, his anger and embarrassment shooting through the roof. "I told you, I don't love her—I love you, so stop looking so god damned surprised that I chose you! I love you, and I swear to fucking gods, if you ever think that I don't just because I won't tell my fucking old man or the rest of the world—"_

_Zoro cut him off when he slammed their lips back together, flinging his arms around Sanji and holding him so tightly that Sanji almost couldn't breathe, but he didn't care._

"_I love you," Zoro choked out into his neck. "I love you, I love you."_

"_I love you, damn it, and don't you dare fucking forget that," Sanji returned easily, nuzzling Zoro with his nose as he resumed his thrusting, smiling at the sounds of rapture Zoro was making._

_He loved this idiot more than the world._

Sanji's mouth dropped open and he took Zoro's earrings into his mouth, sucking gently and drinking in the sounds Zoro made as the green-haired man thrust inside of him, his hands tight around Sanji's back. Sanji pulled in his legs tighter behind Zoro, working with his general to move up and down, much slower than they normally moved together, but it felt right for Sanji. Especially after the idiot had brought up Nami. He wanted to feel Zoro, and not frantically, as if it were their last time.

Sanji gripped Zoro tighter as the younger man grunted and then pushed himself to his knees, carrying him back a few steps to lay him down on one of the pillows in the tent. Sanji reached up and placed his hands on Zoro's cheeks, drawing him down into another kiss as Zoro's movement became harder inside of him.

Sanji pushed his tongue past Zoro's lips, groaning loudly as Zoro braced himself to thrust harder, and soon their grunting had bled into cries and harsh breaths. Zoro drove his body into Sanji's like an earthquake, and all Sanji could splutter out was for Zoro to move faster, harder, deeper. Sanji was almost glad that Zoro was the one topping right now; his body was so hot he wasn't sure he wouldn't break Zoro if **he** was the one doing the fucking right now.

Sanji gasped, throwing his head back into the pillow as Zoro grabbed his manhood, jerking in hard in time to his thrusting. Sanji's hands flew up to rake at Zoro's back and shoulders, something he knew would make the general move harder against him. His back was going raw against the ground, but he didn't care.

"Sanji," Zoro gritted out around his panting.

"I love you," Sanji groaned into his ear and Zoro shuddered, giving Sanji's cock one last, hard yank before Sanji cried out and they both came, Sanji's seed coating Zoro's hand with the same heat as what was filling him.

Zoro, already flush against Sanji's torso, relaxed with a huge exhale, and they lay panting against each other. Sanji lifted his hands from where they had fallen limply to the ground and wrapped them around Zoro's shoulders, keeping his legs around Zoro's middle. Zoro grunted and shifted, pulling up, and Sanji was about to yank him back down stubbornly but the green-haired man only wrapped his own arms around Sanji's back, and the second he had buried his face in Sanji's shoulder, the telltale snoring was reverberating through the blond's skin.

Sanji sighed, but didn't try to kick Zoro, instead just wriggled until the pillow was actually under his head again, and then settled back down. If anyone had to talk to them… well, fuck it. It wasn't like he and Zoro were the only ones who had sex on the planet. And it sure as hell wouldn't be the first time someone had walked in on them.

Outside, the younger guard was still trying to get his mouth to close and he was still trying to figure out how he used to blink. His eyes were going dry.

"…O-Oh," he choked out finally, his grip tight on his spear.

"Yeah," the second nodded, not even slightly perturbed by what they'd just heard. "You'll get used to it."


	3. Chapter 3

I don't own anything but my ideas.

One Year Later

Sanji groaned, shoving his hand harshly into his hair and twirling the cigarette between his lips as he snarled to himself about all the bullshit he had to put up with.

Honestly, **housing forms**? Why the hell did they need him to read all of these? There were more than two hundred here, and in the time that he took to read all of them over, chances are that a good chunk of these people will have died, because winter will have already set.

Sanji groaned and chucked the first packet back into the monstrous pile. First thing tomorrow: get the idiot land-issuers in here to read the damn packets themselves and look for any oddities **themselves**. **Then** he'd sign the ones that looked valid. That meant that he'd have to set a predetermined limit to the amount of land they could sell every year though…

_Whatever. _He'd take care of it later.

Sanji shoved the pile off of his desk, smirking inwardly at the thump as they hit the floor as he imagined his idiot land-issuers having to sort through them again, and grabbed the next document off of the stack, just for his gaze to turn hostile again.

_The divorce papers._

…He was doing the unthinkable. He was doing what hadn't been done in centuries.

He was divorcing his queen.

Well, actually, she was divorcing him, but their motivations were very similar.

After Nami had come to terms with catching him and Zoro together, she had approached Sanji and asked if she could have… someone special of her own. And because he had already betrayed her even before they were married, he'd readily agreed.

He hadn't exactly expected her to find that special someone in Luffy though.

Apparently it had taken a few months of convincing on Nami's part to get him to believe her that he wouldn't be cheating on one of his best friend's and king's wife, and even then Sanji had had to sit through three excruciating conversations in which he explained exactly **why** he wasn't particularly jealous that Nami loved someone else before Luffy had agreed to return Nami's advances.

When Sanji agreed to the divorce, he had only asked one thing of Nami. That the reason for the divorce stayed that he wanted her to be happy with Luffy, even if he couldn't give her what she wanted. And bless small favors, she had promised not to say anything about Zoro.

For a price.

Sanji sighed and ran a hand through his hair, picking up the next document in the pile, the money transfer paperwork, and laying it next to the divorce papers. At least it wasn't an unreasonable price. He hadn't mentioned it to Zoro though, because he knew his general would flip and his chivalry wasn't nearly as good as Sanji's. Actually, it was non-existent. The man was an ape. Thank god he was gay, or Sanji would have kicked his ass for treating his technical wife like he did most women.

Sanji signed both in all of the respective places, double-checking the amount of the transfer to make sure she hadn't tried to up the price while he wasn't looking before he placed them in the "done" pile, when the door creaked open.

Sanji looked up, a huge smile lighting up his face the second he saw Nami standing in the doorway. She smiled back and closed the door behind her, shooting an odd glance at the mounds of paper spread out all over the floor. Sanji shook his head and moved to her side, just stepping over them as he walked.

"I just signed them," Sanji said, taking her hand to kiss it. She nodded, and then pulled her hand away, crossing her arms tightly under her breasts. Sanji couldn't keep his eyes from wandering downwards. She had such nice ones…

"Sanji… are you sure you're ok with this? You'll have to deal with the council, and you're father…"

"I already talked to my father," Sanji grimaced, rubbing the bump that was still prominent on his head. "And I don't give a shi—excuse me, my lady—what the council thinks."

Nami nodded, smiling slightly. "I wish I had your courage, Sanji. I could've stood up to Zoro, then. I might've had a chance."

Sanji's smile dropped slightly. _Never. _She would have never stood a chance. "…I'm sorry that I couldn't love you like you wanted."

She looked up to offer him a gentle smile, reach out to push him playfully. "Oh, come on, you knew I was just doing it for the money."

Sanji chuckled, and accepted her hug when she held out her arms, pulling her into his chest and placing his chin on her head.

…_She smells so different from him. _Delicate. He wasn't exactly sure whether he liked it or not.

Nami pulled back and shuffled her foot, looking intently at the ground. "Last chance offer if you still want that child."

Sanji shook his head. "Thank you, Nami, but I'll work something out. Give your children to Luffy."

Nami nodded, giving him one last blinding smile before she turned and left.

The second the door had slammed, Sanji groaned loudly and flopped back against his desk.

_What the hell **am** I going to do about an heir?_

Later

Sanji sat neck-deep in the goddamn paperwork again, this time with his hands buried in the peace documents for the war that hadn't happened. Around him (well, around the paperwork that was around him) was Zoro, standing there like a statue, and some idiot younger guard who was so scared that Sanji wouldn't have been surprised if his ridiculous posture was because he had glued a board to his back in order to not bend over at all. Sanji couldn't remember whether or not it was the same kid who had been outside their tent… was he the same age…? Whatever.

After two hours of not one of them moving, Sanji rolled his eyes and leaned back in his seat, shaking out his wrist.

"Thank god that war didn't happen."

…

Sanji blinked, looking past where the guard was still floundering mentally—trying to make a decision on if he was the one supposed to answer or not—over to Zoro, where he was standing very alertly against the—wait a second.

Sanji growled, picking up the miniscule sounds of snoring traveling over from the opposite side of the room, and hucked his shoe at the tanned forehead as hard as he could, making the poor guard nearly jump out of his skin as Zoro yelped and slammed back into the wall behind him.

"What the hell, cook?"

Sanji almost didn't have time to hide his smirk at the guard's expression before he wiped off the grin and turned back to Zoro.

"Pay attention, marimo! It's a damn good thing that no one attacked or drugged me or anything, you would have slept through the whole thing!"

Zoro growled, rubbing the back of his head with one hand and his forehead with the other. "I would not! Don't put me on the same level as idiots!"

"I don't **have** to put you there. I can't help that you're already there."

"How's your paperwork going? Your wrist give out yet? Must be good for your cooking."

Sanji let out a feral sound, the quill almost snapping in his vice grip. "It's fine! And it's not like I have a damn choice! I would never risk my hands like that! Idiot! Marimo!"

Zoro paused for a moment before, "You could have someone else sign for you, and then we could go spar."

The next sound Sanji made was more like a choke, and before his face could flush, he ducked back behind the enormous stack of papers smothering his poor desk.

"Marimo… stupid… fucking idiot… baldy… national treasure…" he grumbled under his breath, scribbling away furiously. Zoro might have a point though, not that he would ever admit that the idiot had given him the idea. His wrist was sore, and it was his dominant hand… was he doing damage?

The silence except for the scratching of pen on paper was drowning the room again, and Sanji sighed, deciding that now was as good a time as ever.

"I… signed the divorce papers earlier."

Both sets of eyes snapped to him before the guard seemed to realize that it could be rude and turned away. Zoro was no such gentleman.

"…You tell her yet?"

Sanji nodded, shoving away another stack of papers into the done pile and leaning back in his chair, rolling his shoulders. "And the shitty old man doesn't care, so now all that's left to do is find some fairy to give me a baby and—"

Paper flew and the inkwell smashed onto the ground, most of everything on Sanji's desk exploding off of his desk in a flurry of white and ink. Sanji gasped, scrambling back as something shot towards his face, and then out of nowhere hands were holding his jawbone still, a pair of strong and too-well-known lips crushing his and hindering his ability to breathe. Sanji's eyes drifted closed, about to relax entirely into the kiss, before he suddenly realized—

"GET OFF! IDIOT MARIMO!" Sanji screeched, flinging Zoro back and standing fast enough to send his chair flying too. He floundered for a second before he jammed his finger towards the door, screaming for the guard to get out. The young man nodded frantically, having seen just how far his king could kick people, and flung the door open, pulling it closed so fast that he closed part of his shirt in it and ripped off a sizable chunk.

_Maybe it's a respect thing between kings and generals…_ the guard thought to himself as his heart rate went down, _like bowing to him or something, except, more… personal respect. They've already done it twice…_

Sanji whirled to Zoro, his chest heaving, his face redder than a freaking sunrise, and nailed Zoro across the head with his foot so hard Zoro hit the wall on the other side of the room.

"YOU'RE DAMN LUCKY THERE WAS ONLY ONE OF THEM IN HERE AND THAT HE'S AN IDIOT!"

They were still for a while as Sanji's breathing dropped back to normal levels, and then Sanji reached up to run his hands over his face. Damn marimo was going to give him grey hair.

Sanji sucked in a huge breath, his voice much more reserved now that the topic of conversation had broken through his rage again.

"We—er, I still have to work out something about an heir… but we'll figure something out." He said the last part in a rush of air, letting his hands drop back to his side. When Zoro said nothing, Sanji looked over at him curiously to find him grinning ear to ear and Sanji scowled, marching back to his desk to sort—**again**—the paperwork that Zoro had scattered.

XXX

Sanji sucked in a deep breath through his nose, relaxing back against the snoring, green-haired man on the bed behind him. Sanji looked over his shoulder and smirked at Zoro's mouth hanging open unabashedly before turning back to the knife in his hand.

Filet knife. Ivory handle. Black pearl rivets. Full tang. Straight edge. Taper ground. Gorgeous knife, but it was in need of a good sharpening.

Sanji looked over to where the rest of the set was laid out on the bedside table. A set that had been forged specifically for his hands, knives with tips that never broke or bent, a twenty-four piece set with assorted ivory, mother of pearl and abalone handles, and jeweled rivets to set the blades.

While traveling in the Grand Line, battling with Daz Bones in the deserts Alabasta, Zoro had bribed a famous knife forger to travel back with him to make Sanji the precious set before Zoro sent him home. Sanji ran his fingers over the tang of the handle once more before picking up his polishing cloth and continuing his work.

It had been five months since Sanji had officially divorced Nami, three months since the official announcement of Robin and Franky's engagement, two months since Chopper had graduated as an actual doctor, one month since Nami had been seen with Luffy and the rumors started, and two weeks since Brook's moving into the castle as an official musician.

Sanji shifted again against Zoro's torso, turning the knife over in his hands. It had also been five months since Sanji seriously started looking into other forms of heirs, three months since he'd given up on trying to find an orphaned infant from some other royal family, two months since he'd started looking into **relatives** that had been orphaned—anyone young now, not just babies—one month since he'd found that he in fact had no relatives more than five years younger than him, and two weeks since he'd full out attacked one of his advisors for saying that he should just give up and marry a different girl even if Nami hadn't been right for him. The reason Brook had been ordered to move into the castle was to try and relieve some of Sanji's stress through music, or dancing, or some other shit.

Sanji groaned softly and slapped the knife back down with the other ones, not trusting himself to treat it with enough respect with the mood he was in now. God, he could do with a massage. He looked back over his shoulder to Zoro again, but vetoed that idea pretty quickly. Zoro's hands—brilliantly skilled from years of being a swordsman—were like euphoria against his back and shoulders, but he didn't much feel like dealing with Zoro bitching about being woken up.

That plan didn't last too long, however, when the door suddenly smashed open. Sanji sprang to his feet (the instantaneous thought about where he was in proximity to Zoro foremost on his mind), scrambling away from Zoro with an uncouth yelp that was actually more akin to a shriek—not that he would ever admit that. Zoro's eyes shot open at the scream and he lunged for his swords, yanking two of them out of their sheathes as he stuck his leg out in front of Sanji, clotheslined him, knocking all form of air harshly out of his lungs, and all but kicked him back as he stood simultaneously to crouch protectively in front of him, sending the blond crashing back into the bedside table. The knives wobbled dangerously from Sanji's head connecting with the wood, and Sanji relaxed and let his head visibly flop back when none of the twenty-four fell off of the table and onto him.

It was at that moment that both young men recognized the tall hat and the braided mustache standing in the doorway, and heat flooded into Sanji's face from the way Zoro had thrown himself in front of him.

"Fucking marimo!" Sanji shoved Zoro to the side, rubbing his head as he righted himself. "Watch where you're fucking throwing me!"

"Then don't scream like a girl next time!" Zoro snarled, slamming his swords back into their sheathes. "I thought we were being attacked or something," he grumbled.

"I DON'T SCREAM LIKE A GIRL!"

"General, I wonder if you'd get the hell out of here so I can talk to my Little Eggplant?" Zeff cut in, crossing his arms, not about to stand through **another** one of their arguments.

Zoro closed his mouth after a moment, muttering to himself as he collected his things. He bowed first to Zeff and then to Sanji, and then pulled the door shut behind him.

Sanji stuffed his hands tightly into his pockets, not sure where to even **begin** speaking. Zeff **had** to have found out by now, but it still embarrassed the hell out of Sanji to be caught like that. King or not, weren't there rules against barging into a prince's room without knocking?

Zeff stood looking at the closed door for a moment before he shuffled his peg leg over to the bedside table and picking up one of the knives, turning it over and over in his hands before he muttered, "This one's dull."

"I'm not done with them!" Sanji snarled, yanking it out of his hands and smacking it back down in the case that he slammed shut. Damn geezer.

"…I'm still amazed that princess didn't ask for anything to go through with the divorce," Zeff started slowly, folding his hands behind his back.

Sanji clenched his fists. He knew damn well Zeff had found out aboutthe money too, damn geezer. And how dare he call her "that princess." Shitty old man.

"How's General Roronoa?"

Now this was the conversation he'd truly been dreading. "Fine."

"Good. …I was speaking with Brook, who was telling me that the music isn't really helping you calm down, and the General was very kind to offer that more cooking might help you, so I've canceled any lessons or paperwork that you have for the next week and I've invited some women over for dinner on Saturday."

Sanji blinked. This… was **not** what he'd been expecting. Not at all. "…Thanks?"

"Wouldn't you rather be cooking that doing paperwork—"

"**Hell yes**."

Zeff nodded smugly. "I've set up the kitchen for you, and I would offer to get someone to sharpen your knives, but none of these idiots can even polish a file correctly, so you're going to have to do it."

The tenseness Sanji's shoulders had buckled with eased instantly. No one but no one—except maybe Zoro—was touching his knives.

He nodded again in thanks to Zeff and bowed, like Zoro had done, turning for the door. Cooking. Sweet, loving goddess of the moon, sun, and stars, **yes**. He needed to cook.

But a voice stopped him the second his hand was resting on the door handle.

"Oh, Little Eggplant?"

Sanji twitched at the name, but he stopped, waiting.

Zeff took his time answering, shuffling around the room a little more before settling himself into a chair next to the bed. "I was speaking to Robin Nico the other day—"

Sanji froze.

"And she reminded me of something interesting that she thought would be particularly helpful."

"…And?" Sanji choked out.

"She reminded me that you are not my own son."

Well, his fear was gone anyways, replaced by a slow anger he could feel churning in his stomach. He had been reminded of that little detail his entire life, beaten and abused for it by other royal families until he had learned to really defend himself. He knew that he wasn't a prince by blood; he could never **forget** that he wasn't a prince by blood. "And?"

Zeff just smiled. "You're not my son."

"I **know**—"

"Sanji, you're not my own—"

"I **know**, shitty geezer! I know I'm adop—"

Sanji's eyes popped and his tongue practically fell out of his head as he registered the words that were coming out of his mouth.

He was adopted.

He had been adopted.

He wasn't a prince by blood.

"I think," Zeff started, cutting through Sanji's thoughts, "that I saw the General turn towards the west tower as he left, so probably the sparring rooms?"

Sanji didn't need another word from his adoptive father, and the door was left practically torn off of its hinges as he disappeared down the hallway. Zeff sighed and rubbed at his forehead. If his Little Eggplant would just **come out** already! The kingdom would be twitchy for a while, but there was no doubt Sanji was a great prince and king—adopted, divorced, and all. Any problems about him having a not legitimate heir would pass soon enough.

He didn't think Sanji would ever do that though.

Ah well, whatever made the kid happy.

Sanji threw open the door to the west tower, 3000 square feet of nothing but floor specifically for sparring except for a small corner where Zoro kept his ridiculous weights. Zoro's favorite room in the entire palace, even more so than the balcony where he took the majority of his naps.

Zoro had peeled away his shirt and left it somewhere to the side as he executed a few drills in the middle of the room, a couple maids milling about around him, cleaning and reorganizing the practice swords to their liking. The maids were admiring Zoro's shirtless body, but Sanji didn't care. Normally, he would only be slightly annoyed, but today, he couldn't have cared less. He wouldn't have even cared if **Zoro** were ogling after the maids today! …Well, ok, that wasn't true. He would fucking care. But he didn't care about the maids.

"My lovely ladies," Sanji said with a deep bow, glowing when the all answered with a chorus of, "Good evening, young lord!"

"I do not mean to be rude, and I would like to thank you for your hard work, but I would ask that you all leave us alone for a little while. There are some things I must discuss with the general." He swept an arm across his waist, too occupied with ignoring Zoro's perplexed stare to notice the knowing glance the maids exchanged before gathering their things and leaving with quick curtsies.

Sanji bowed again to each on their way out and then, as soon as the last had left (_with a wink? _he blinked to himself, slightly confused (preferring to live in a world in which no one else knew about him and Zoro)) he pushed the huge double doors closed behind them and slid the bolt across the door.

"What are you doing?" Zoro asked, but he was ignored as Sanji dashed to the back entrance to the west wing and locked that as well. "Oi, cook, what are you doing?"

Zoro shook his head to himself as Sanji continued to be the aloof idiot that he was, yawning and scratching his green hair as he slung his weights over his shoulders, striding over to the weight rack in the corner and dodging Sanji as he dashed by to the door to the small bath behind the sparring room.

_Stupid cook, what the hell is he doing?_

Zoro had just placed the weights with the others with a loud clank that echoed around the walls of the sparring room when he was suddenly slammed forward from behind, something flattening his chest against the wall in front of him. Zoro grunted hard, his palms connecting with the stone without him having to think about catching himself, but before his reactions could send a quick jab over his shoulder to break bone as well, he recognized the signature smell of cigarette smoke, sesame oil and spices wafting over his shoulders.

Zoro leaned his forehead against the wall as Sanji pushed hard against his lower body with his powerful legs and hips, virtually crushing him against the wall in that amazing strength—**gods**, yes, he wanted this.

Zoro groaned hard, scrabbling against the cold stone that was quickly warming up under their rising body heat as Sanji started to run his hands up and down his sides, occasionally gripping Zoro's hips and twisting his pelvic bone hard against Zoro's ass. Zoro gasped, his mouth dropping open as Sanji leaned forward and started nibbling down his spine, stopping to suck harshly on the space right between his shoulders. Zoro shivered, his back arching as Sanji bit down on his back and pulled, groaning again as he felt Sanji grin against his skin.

"You like that?" Sanji whispered huskily, grinding against him again and crushing his cock against the wall. Zoro let out a yelp, his head dropping back as panting took over his normal breathing.

"Y-Yes…" Zoro whispered, so quiet that even wind wouldn't have been able to pick it up, but Sanji still smirked against him.

Sanji pulled back slightly before snapping forward again, slamming into Zoro and making him bark out a sharp cry.

"You like that?" Sanji hissed against his shoulder.

"Yes, yes," Zoro ground out. _Please, dear gods, harder._

"I can't hear you, Zoro."

"Yes, yes I like it," Zoro gasped, almost crying as Sanji bit down on him again.

Sanji grinned, Zoro's skin between his teeth. His general, one of the toughest men in the world, begging. Who would have guessed that Zoro liked it rough—or, actually, that he liked to **take** it rough? Not Sanji, at least not from the beginning. Zoro never liked to be rough with Sanji, too afraid to hurt him, but the man was definitely to be a masochist. Sanji tongued Zoro's three dangling earrings as he thought this, reveling in the sounds Zoro was making.

It was just as well, the idea of taking something as strong as Zoro like this was hot—a fact he told Zoro regularly.

"I never would have picked you for a slut, Zoro. Who knew you were so needy?" he slid a hand around Zoro's front to grip him through his pants and Zoro cried out, scraping at the stone with his nails.

"Please, please, Sanji—"

"Please what, Zoro?"

"…Sanji, I-I need…"

Sanji slid his hand further up, stroking just under Zoro's naval and Zoro growled at the loss of touch, but Sanji flattened him against the wall again, preventing him from doing anything.

"Tell me nicely, Zoro, what do you need?"

Zoro swallowed, and Sanji watched a droplet of sweat slide down his neck before Zoro said,

"Fuck me, please fuck me, young lord."

Sanji felt his cock jump and he thrust hard, making Zoro groan under him.

"You're such a fucking slut, Zoro, fucking sexy."

"**Fuck**, Sanji, please—!"

Sanji relented, yanking his hand out from between Zoro and the wall and sticking his fingers in his mouth. He ran his tongue thoroughly over all of them before sliding his hand down Zoro's pants, pulling Zoro from the wall with his other hand.

Zoro practically **screamed** when Sanji immediately pushed two fingers into him, breathing hard and babbling something about Sanji going faster before he died.

Sanji shoved Zoro's pants down to his knees with his free hand, working a third finger into Zoro as he scrambled to get his own pants down. Sanji's breath lurched in his chest as Zoro turned slightly to look over his shoulder at him, his eyes molten, simmering with heat as he stared hard at Sanji. Sanji swallowed and yanked his hand back, positioning himself against Zoro as he moved one hand to Zoro's chest, forcing him over farther.

Sanji wrapped one arm around Zoro's chest to immobilize him, braced his elbow against the wall and pushed into Zoro in one motion. Zoro cried out, his voice echoing around the huge room as his head dropped forward onto Sanji's arm, one hand reaching around behind him to hold Sanji closer to him.

"Fuck yeah, you're so fucking tight," Sanji groaned, picking up his pace.

"Sanji—ah! Harder, Jesus, harder!"

Sanji leaned back on one heel for better footing, slamming into Zoro, holding him so tightly against his chest that Sanji was kind of afraid he was really hurting Zoro, but the only indications that came from Zoro were for him to go faster and harder, so he did.

Sanji moved his hand from Zoro's chest, dragging his nails down Zoro's front, laughing breathlessly at Zoro's gasp, to run his fingers over Zoro's cock. The younger man jumped, lifting one leg up and putting his foot on the weight rack. Sanji immediately slid forward and thrust up hard, gripping the wall when Zoro almost fell over onto him.

Sanji's thrusting moved in time to his hand's jerking, and then Zoro's spine was quaking against Sanji's chest, and Sanji leaned forward, bracing himself against the wall again. Sanji slowed, waiting until Zoro was whipping his head around to snarl at him for stopping, and then slammed forward the exact instant that he bit down hard on Zoro's shoulder.

Zoro let out a gasping moan, and then dropped back, scrabbling at the wall to not fall over as Sanji took on his weight, and Sanji grunted as Zoro tightened around him, his insides erupting in heat as he groaned into Zoro's shoulder.

Sanji let Zoro's foot touch back down against the floor, stumbling forward until Zoro's chest hit the wall and he let his head drop into the crook of Zoro's neck, the both of them just panting for a moment.

Sanji stirred slowly, letting out a content sound as he looped his arms around Zoro's middle, laying a kiss on the red teeth marks on his neck as he rubbed gently at Zoro's stomach.

"Congratulations on becoming a father," he murmured.

Zoro shot up, his eyes snapping over his shoulder to Sanji before he suddenly relaxed, and Sanji realized with a start that Zoro had thought he was accusing him of cheating and getting some girl pregnant. He had certainly fucked him hard enough for it to be angry sex. Sanji kissed his neck softly again—wordless reassurance that he had never suspected something like that.

Zoro snorted, pushing away from the wall as he fixed his pants, twinging somewhat as he bent over. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Sanji gripped the green haired man tighter as he reached for his shirt, and Zoro sighed, relenting and just leaning back into Sanji as he reached up to hold Sanji's arms.

Sanji could practically hear his voice singing. "I was adopted."

"…I know."

"I was adopted, Zoro."

"…**Yeah**, I **know**, and?"

Sanji stayed still, knowing that if he gave Zoro a second, he would reach it in three, two, one—

Zoro's eyes snapped open and his lips fell open with a small pop. Sanji let his smile split his face, and he leaned up to kiss Zoro on the cheek, and then buried himself in Zoro's neck again.

XXX

"Sanji, I would love to help you, but—"

Sanji slapped a good sized sack of coins down on the table, and immediately her nimble fingers snapped out and yanked it back to her, sifting through its contents before she leaned back with a satisfied smile.

"It's really easy, actually," Nami ran a hand through her short hair, leaning back farther to accommodate for the slight bump protruding from her middle. "You find a girl—I think you should go with a blonde, so there's a better chance that the baby will be blonde too. That'll help the kingdom accept that it isn't a "royal" baby by blood. Anyways, you find a girl that doesn't want kids, knock her up—make absolute sure Zoro's ok about that part—" she cut in again, "—and then she gives up her rights legally on paper and there's no problem. The paper says that the baby is yours and isn't and never was hers. I suppose that you could put Zoro down as the other parent, but that would mean that you had to come out."

Sanji nodded blissfully, only half listening.

He didn't care, he was getting a child! **With Zoro**!

He was going to scream!

"You know, it might be easier for the kingdom if you come out first…" Nami started slowly. "That way, it won't be like two slaps in the face for the kingdom and the elders. Instead of **whop**, baby that isn't legitimate, and then **wham**, our king is freaking gay **and** has an illegitimate heir, it would be **wham**, our king is freaking gay, and then, "Oh, well that makes sense," about the baby." She gave Sanji a look. "Homosexuality hasn't been illegal for a couple decades now, you know. And just because there haven't been any gay royalty yet… well, you have to start somewhere, right?"

Nami stood, gathering her shawl around her shoulders. "I think you should just come out. Go all Alexander and Hephaestion on them," she smirked and Sanji couldn't help but grin back.

"And also, Zoro could do the same."

Sanji blinked. He hadn't considered that. Though he wasn't sure how he felt about **his** marimo fucking some other woman…

Nami snorted, daintily of course. "Though I'm not sure how able he'll be to find a girl with green hair. Who knows, though? Maybe it won't matter, maybe green hair is dominant or something."

Sanji smirked. Ah, the marimo. Literally in both ways—brain and hair.

"Have you told your father yet?"

"Actually," Sanji flopped down in his chair, "Zeff was the one who gave me the idea. Reminded me that I was adopted."

Nami smiled and pulled the door to his office open. "I can do some searching for you if you want. For a small fee, of course. Just write down a list of qualities you want in her and I'll get you some interviews."

Sanji nodded, thanking her with a deep bow, and Nami smiled and pulled the door closed behind her.

Sanji sighed deeply, leaning back in his chair as he ran a hand through his hair, holding his bangs back for a second before letting them flop back in front of his unfocused left eye.

His fingers drifted tenderly over his left eyelid and he smiled slightly.

"_Feh, I don't care how it looks. Stop freaking out, it doesn't make you look any less like a pretty boy."_

"_Why you—!"_

"_I like it," Zoro cut him off again, smirking coyly and tapping his chest lightly where Sanji knew the jagged, scarred skin lay hidden under his tunic. Zoro shifted his legs next and Sanji remembered that there were twin slices on his ankles too._

_But scars were for military men—men who lived for battle. He liked to fight, but he didn't like war, and he sure as hell didn't like that this particular scar was on his face—open for the world to see._

_Zoro pulled him from his thoughts, "Scars just show how strong you are—they show how much you have lived through to get here."_

_Sanji blinked, turning away from Zoro to muse over those words. _

_When he was eleven, before he'd been adopted by Zeff, his ship had been attacked by one from the king's royal navy. Unbeknownst to him, he had been raised by pirates his entire life. The ship had sank in mere hours, but not before bringing down the navy ship as well, and not before Sanji had taken a face full of embers—most of them straight into his eye._

_Sanji had been stranded for three months on an island—one of only two survivors. It wasn't until Sanji and the man had been rescued that Sanji learned that the man who had pulled him from the water, who had given Sanji all of the food he had, who had eaten his own leg to survive, was actually the **King** of the Eastern, Western and Southern Regions of the East Blue Mountains. _

_He'd always considered his morals to never let **anyone** starve his proof of how he'd survived—he didn't know why he'd never looked at his blind eye as proof as well._

_Sanji grimaced when Zoro pushed aside his hair to reveal said eye, but let Zoro lean in to kiss it. _

"_I like it," Zoro repeated firmly before leaning back to resume polishing his precious katana. Sanji had to dip his head to hide the slight tugging at the corners of his lips. _

Sanji laid his hands in his lap, looking outside toward the gardens where he could see Zoro meditating under the cherry blossoms, just starting to bloom in the morning sun.

Zoro would be a good dad. As parents, he was pretty sure they'd do ok.


End file.
